Golden Irish folk star Christy Moore to play Sheffield City Hall

Graham Walker, Digital Editor

Irish troubador Christy Moore is celebrating 50 golden years on the road with his only Yorkshire date - he will play Sheffield City Hall.

The 70-year-old folk singer, songwriter and guitaris, named as Ireland's greatest living musician in RTÉ's People of the Year Awards, plays its Irwin Mitchell Oval Hall on Sunday, October 9, 2016, 8pm.

It will be his only Yorkshire show on his latest tour.

His most recent album, Where I Come From, contains new recordings of songs from across his career.

Christy has been working on a documentary film for six months, made by award winning film maker Mark McLoughlin for RTE,

His song Lisdoonvarna was included in The Penguin Book of Irish Poetry in 2010, underlining his huge influence as a leading figure in contemporary Irish culture.

In 2011 he was invited by Coldplay to join them on stage at the Oxegen Festival, closing their headlining set with a performance of his Ride On, in front of a 80,000-strong crowd.

His cover of Bob Dylan's 'Hattie Carroll' has been included on 'The Rough Guide to Bob Dylan', which features the best Bob Dylan covers.

Both as a solo artist and as frontman of Planxty and Moving Hearts, Moore has been a standard bearer for Irish folk music throughout his career, drawing inspiration from diverse sources such as old-time pop and American rock n roll to breath new life into traditional Irish music.

Moore is just as famous for his political and social commentary, using his music to fight for diverse causes including Irish Nationalism, Palestinian solidarity and the anti-nuclear movement.

He has provided a powerful and humane voice of resistance during a tumultuous period in Ireland’s history.

Moore’s performance in Sheffield will be a rare chance for Yorkshire audiences to spend an evening with one of Ireland’s most important musical and cultural figures.

He will be joined on stage by Declan Sinnott on guitar and Jim Higgins on percussion.